Endocrine Abstracts

In the work-up for primary aldosteronism (PA) adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is a corner stone. Although challenged during recent years by means of being insensitive and invasive, it remains the so far only method for lateralization of PA. Indeed, omission of AVS in young patients with a clear adrenal nodule on a CT scan, and development of noninvasive alternatives using positron emission tomography (PET), may replace AVS in certain subgroups. A review of the curent status of A...

Primary aldosteronism (PA), the most frequent form of secondary hypertension, has two main causes: unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) and bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia. APA has the potential for cure of PA by adrenalectomy. In order to identify an APA guidelines advocate adrenal vein sampling (AVS), a technically demanding and expensive procedure of limited availability and with a controversy-raising variety in protocols. CT-scanning is a cheaper and simpler...